AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Um, not that long ago, really.” I don’t know why I was stumbling over my words, but I was, feeling more awkward than ever. “Anyway, what can I help you with today?”
“Uh,” he hesitated. “I was looking at taking out a personal loan. I don’t bank here, but my father does. I thought that might make things a little easier for me.”
I raised a brow. “Your credit isn’t attached to your father’s unless he’s co-signing.”
“Right, and if he needs to co-sign, I’m sure he’ll be happy to do so.” There was something in his voice that made me think twice for a moment, wondering if he was in some sort of financial crisis—but maybe that’s just because I was used to dealing with that back in San Francisco. It’s one of the most expensive cities to live in, so it’s not uncommon for people to live well outside of their means.
“He needs to be present if he’s going to co-sign,” I commented, pulling out a loan application.
“Jesus, you people still fill these out by hand,” he grunted, his shoulders sagging. “I don’t have a lot of time since I have to get back to my shift.”
“Uh, yeah. I don’t know why their system is like this, to be honest.” I laughed, shrugging my shoulders. “I guess it’s just a small-town thing. The process takes a lot more time than other institutions. If you need something immediate, I recommend somewhere else. Then again, if it’s less than ten thousand, there’s a good chance I might be able to push it through today.”
“Fucking great,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “I need to pull out a large amount.”
My brow raised mostly with curiosity. “How much are we talking?”
He was quiet for a moment, his eyes dropping to his hands in his lap and then back up to me. “One hundred grand.”
Whoa.
“In the form of a personal loan?” I mean, I had dealt with much, much higher amounts, but knowing Robbie’s career and living in this small town…
There was no way that would get approval.
Not unless he was secretly sitting on a goldmine.
“It’s urgent.”
“I don’t know if I can do anything about that…” my voice trailed off as I shifted in my chair. “I would love to help you out, but I don’t think it’ll work.”
“Call the owner of this place and see what you can do.”
“Um… I don’t have the owner’s contact information, Robbie.” I gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m not sure what kind of situation you’ve gotten yourself in, but I think you might have to go somewhere else. Maybe a home equity loan?”
He let out a sharp sigh. “All right, then I guess I’ll have to do this a different way.” Robbie reached into the pocket of his pants, pulling out what looked to be a checkbook.
“Uh, you can’t write a check for that amount if it’s not going to go through, and even if there is the cash there, there’ll be a hold.”
“I’m not writing a check,” he grunted, shaking his head at me. “I have a withdrawal slip from my dad for one of his accounts. He said I could take the money out that way, but I was hoping not to have to drain his personal account. It’s all he’s got.”
My eyes widened. “I mean, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure that we can figure out something—or you can go to one of the credit unions.”
“Yeah, I really need to keep this local.”
I shook my head. “I guess I don’t quite understand your situation…”
“It’s urgent. I got myself into a bit of a hole. You don’t think there’s anything you could do to help me out? I really don’t want to take the money from my dad’s retirement account. I know he’s always willing to help me out, but it just… I don’t know. It feels wrong, you know. I’m the one who got myself into this mess, so I need to be the one who gets myself out. I just have some bad debts.” His voice sounded downtrodden, and his expression matched, pulling at my heartstrings.
I pursed my lips, reaching for the book of phone numbers. “Well, let me see if there’s something I can do for you. I don’t usually do this, but… But I guess sometimes there are exceptions.”
“That would be amazing of you, Hallie.” His tone brightened. “I really need to get out of this mess I’ve gotten in.”
I blew out a sigh, pulling up the number of Charlie Hughes. “I get that. Trust me.”
Chapter 14
Gunner
